Howard’s tawdry record was already a world-beater by 2004, according to veteran reporter Alan Ramsay:

'John Howard told a lie on May 2, 1995. Then he told more lies to reinforce the first lie. To protect himself from what he judged a serious threat to his last chance to be prime minister, Howard lied and went on lying. Now, three years later, he is telling still more lies to hide that first lie.'

Howard lied repeatedly to the electorate and to colleagues. It was a Liberal Senator who gave rise to the nickname‘the lying rodent’.

But Tony Abbott – who openly admires Howard – has already set a record unsurpassed in Westminster parliamentary history and almost certainly unsurpassable.

But thirty?

Well, let’s check:

1. Anti-Hanson slush fund

In 1998, Abbott supported legal action against Pauline Hanson.

Less than 2 weeks later, he categorically denied so doing to the ABC, and later repeated the lie to the Sydney Morning Herald. When the reporter confronted him with his signed personal guarantee, he said:

“…misleading the ABC is not quite the same as misleading the Parliament as a political crime."

This was so brazen, it was widely said at the time he could kiss goodbye any ambitions to be prime minister”.

2. Electoral Commission re: donations

In 1998, the Australian Electoral Commission asked Abbott to disclose his donors, as required. To avoid doing so, he blatantly lied to the AEC, as revealed by Margo Kingston and others.

3. Meeting with Cardinal Pell

Asked in 2004 if he had met Cardinal Pell recently, Abbott told Tony Jones and the nation:

“Not that I can recall.”

He had met the cardinal just days before, as satirised brilliantly by the Chaser lads.

4. Climate change

Abbott’s statements include that scientific evidence for climate change is “absolute crap” and

“Climate change is real, humanity does make a contribution to it and we’ve got to take effective action against it.”

20. Deals with the Greens

“I don’t do these sorts of deals with people. I mean, I wasn’t prepared to give the Independents, I wasn’t prepared to give the Greens what they wanted. Julia Gillard was.”

The opposite of the truth.

Abbott promised the Greens the same concessions in the 2010 post-election horse trading as did Gillard. They just couldn’t trust him to keep his word.

And in December, the debt ceiling was abolished in a deal with the Greens.

21. Daughters living at home

Kevin Rudd asked Abbott last September if his daughters would also be living in the Lodge.

“The short answer is yes, because they don't want to leave home until such time as they get married.”

Short and false.

Daughter Louise had already moved in with her boyfriend. Abbott knew that.

22. Cardinal Pell’s reputation

Asked in November about George Pell’s handling of child sex abuse claims, Abbott replied:

“... he has by repute been the first senior cleric in Australia to take this issue seriously.”

Plainly false. Many senior Catholics have been far more pro-active, including former Sydney bishop Geoffrey Robinson who quit in 2004 in disgust at non-action by Pell and others.

23. Worker entitlements

Liberal MP Dr Sharman Stone called Abbott – her own leader – a liar over several blatantly false allegations in February about workers’ benefits at SPC.

24. Productivity

“It’s good that Mr Rudd … committed the Government to a new effort to boost productivity … but he’s never actually taken the steps needed to convert aspiration into achievement.”

False.

Productivity increased dramatically for four quarters in 2009. It then stalled briefly as the GFC took effect.

Since 2010, productivity has increased for a record 12 consecutive quarters to an all-time high.

25, 26 & 27. Abolishing taxes

“Tax reform starts with abolishing the carbon tax and the mining tax, which have done so much to spook investors, threaten jobs and hurt every family’s cost of living.”

Three fibs in one sentence.

Investment in Australia was not impacted negatively. People employed rose every quarter since the tax was introduced. Inflation was below the rate for most of the Labor period prior to the carbon tax and below the rate for most of the last five Howard years.

28. End of the boom

“At the Press Club recently, Mr Rudd declared that the mining boom was over and that Australia needed to be ready for life afterwards.”

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Independent Australia is a progressive journal focusing on politics, democracy, the environment, Australian history and Australian identity. It contains news and opinion from Australia and around the world. [ read more ]